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North Korean authorities stay silent on rocket launch

The North Korean authorities have still not confirmed whether the rocket has been launched Photo:

The delay in official confirmation from the North Korean authorities is becoming more and more awkward as the minutes and hours pass by. The rest of the world is reporting the launch but here we are left in the dark. In fact, it's more like in the gloom because the lights in the press room here in the luxury international hotel have not been switched on.

Three officials sit at desks trying not to catch the eye of the few foreign reporters who've managed to obtain visas. They make hushed phone calls on their mobiles and check their laptop screens. Any slight movement is seen as a possible sign that an announcement is about to be made.

A planned trip into the capital this morning has been cancelled. Instead we have been told to assemble in the lobby in the early afternoon with no phones and no computers, just cameras. No one can tell me where we might be going or when an official statement will be made.